1957: Louisiana State Medical Society officers

Last week New Orleans hosted a huge medical convention, the American College of Cardiology. In that vein, so to speak, this May 8, 1957, photo shows the newly elected officers of the Louisiana State Medical Society, from left: Dr. Cuthbert J. Brown, first vice-president; Dr. H. Ashton Thomas, president; and Dr. C. Grenes Cole, secretary-treasurer.

J. N. PItts, The Times-Picayune archive

By today's standards this group was particularly homogenous, not only in terms of race and gender but geographically as well. All three lived and worked in New Orleans; Drs. Brown and Thomas lived across Canal Boulevard from each other and were best of friends, according to Linda Bordelon, Dr. Thomas' daughter.

Last week's photo of Jane Russell's 1956 visit to New Orleans reminded Bordelon that the actress sought her father's help with a sore throat during her stay. Her father later joked that he regretted the famously buxom star's symptoms didn't warrant a more thorough examination. He did cash her $10 check for his services.

A native New Orleanian, Dr. Thomas received his medical degree from Tulane University in 1929 and interned at Charity Hospital before entering private practice in 1933. He was instrumental in creating a military medical school, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in 1975. He died June 18, 1980, at the age of 76.